Countryfile S37E14 Cairngorms Capercaillie ,
Countryfile S37E14,
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Countryfile S37E14,
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00:00I honestly think, Adam, that this is one of the best places in the whole country.
00:14You've got ancient forests, mountains, rivers, locks, everything.
00:20We're in the Cairngorms National Park.
00:22It really is absolutely stunning.
00:25But life in this landscape is a fragile balance.
00:28And some of the wildlife here teetering on the brink of extinction.
00:58The Cairngorms National Park spans more than 1,700 square miles of the Scottish Highlands.
01:17It's the largest national park in the UK.
01:22Nearly half of this area is considered as wild land, which sounds like the perfect place
01:27for a species to call home.
01:29In fact, a quarter of the UK's rare and endangered species can be found here.
01:35But for some of them, their survival is at a tipping point.
01:39But many people across this landscape are working very hard to protect them.
01:44From dealing with the return of a large apex predator...
01:48Johnny's just getting the dogs that he's been talking about that act as guard dogs for sheep.
01:52Hello!
01:53Oh my goodness, it's like a small horse.
01:56And trying to protect a creature on the brink...
01:58You'll always have some that just want to overstep the mark.
02:01Do they understand the sensitivities?
02:04Most do.
02:05I've even been told, oh, you're the Capuchin police.
02:07So they're fully aware of what I'm doing.
02:10To reviving the fortunes of a diseased tree species.
02:14This has been steaming for a couple of hours.
02:16And how long have you got to bend it?
02:18About a minute and a half.
02:19Oh my goodness, you didn't tell me that.
02:23No pressure then.
02:25And away from the highlands, I'm meeting a young farmer embracing new technologies.
02:30Are you excited about the future of farming?
02:33Do you know what, even though times are quite uncertain at the minute, I think it is exciting.
02:40I feel like we're in an agricultural revolution in terms of technology.
02:54The Cairngorms National Park, a magnificent wild land in the heart of Scotland.
03:00It's home to one of Britain's most vulnerable birds, the capercaillie.
03:06With just over 500 left in the UK, their survival hangs in the balance.
03:13This huge game bird is the largest of the grouse family, with males reaching roughly
03:18the size of a turkey.
03:20With the effect of human activity, predators like foxes and pine martins and poor weather,
03:26their already small population is under a lot of pressure.
03:30Once abundant, there used to be over 20,000 capercaillie here in the 1970s.
03:37Trying to protect the few hundred that remain is conservationist Carolyn Robertson.
03:45They are a remarkable creature, but for those of us, including me, who've never seen one,
03:51describe it for me.
03:52They're a big bird, females, sort of brown in colour, but the males are the one that
03:57I think most folk would recognise, a very big, black, showy kind of bird that you only
04:03find in Scotland.
04:08And as far as looking after them, is that quite a major challenge?
04:11There's lots of things that are a challenge for capercaillie, from lack of habitats to
04:16climate change, which is creating wetter, colder springs for them.
04:21And then presumably, there's lots of things trying to eat their eggs and their chicks
04:24and them.
04:25So foxes, crows, pine martins, badgers, they've got lots of predators out there as well.
04:29Sounds like you've got your work cut out.
04:31Yeah, there's lots to do.
04:42There's a lot against them.
04:43What sort of numbers are we at there now?
04:45So the projection is that they will go extinct in the next 20 to 30 years, which is why we
04:50are really working hard to make sure that that doesn't happen.
04:54The National Survey has done every five years, and in the space of the last two, we've lost
04:58half the birds, so 52% decline in five years, so a really critical situation that they find
05:04themselves in now.
05:06Is there a particular time of year when you need to pay special attention to them?
05:10Yeah, so the Capuchini breeding season runs from early March all the way through to the
05:15end of August, and that's the time of the year when we really must be doing everything
05:20that we can to help them, keeping them safe whilst they are lekking, which is when they
05:25gather in the forest to essentially find a mate and to breed.
05:29So these are called lek sites.
05:31The males will be on the forest floor displaying, and the hens will be up in the trees waiting
05:37to select their mate.
05:40They put on an amazing display with a big fan tail and clucking around, and it is quite
05:46a spectacle.
05:49Any disturbance during the lekking can be catastrophic for Capuchini, causing them to
05:54abandon the site and fail to breed.
05:58To help stop this, Carolyn and her team have launched the Lek It Be campaign.
06:04Over the past two years, they've seen a significant drop in the number of people and guided tours
06:09looking for Capuchini in the area.
06:12So we work in partnership with Police Scotland as part of the Lek It Be campaign, because
06:16it is a wildlife crime to disturb them when they're lekking.
06:19So these signs, we lay them out on tracks that we know folk would walk to get to a lek
06:25site.
06:26So there's one that's just saying avoid the area, basically turn back, and we try and
06:30be as sort of discreet as possible.
06:32So we just lay the signs on the forest floor.
06:35So it's not up on a post so it's easily seen?
06:38No, because we don't want people to know that there's a lek site here.
06:42Then the next sign is going to remind them that we've got cameras out.
06:51So this will be a good spot to put our camera up, as folk will be coming along this track
06:56if they've ignored our sign.
06:58And then this goes onto a card, or does it feed live to your phone?
07:02Live to our phone, so we know straight away if somebody's ignored our signage and about
07:06to disturb Capuchini.
07:08And we run dawn patrols with this, so we've always got people not too far away who can
07:12come and help out.
07:13Is that alright?
07:14Yeah, perfect.
07:15So have you caught any perpetrators on the cameras already?
07:20We have, yeah.
07:21So I can show you some of the images that we've caught on cameras like this.
07:25So this is the first year of the campaign, so quarter past five, these two birdwatchers
07:30approached the camera and we caught several images of them.
07:34And they actually spent quite a lot of time, so this is almost an hour later, still at
07:37the lek site, still trying to find the birds.
07:40This point after these images were taken, we got in contact with them and had a conversation
07:44with them.
07:45It's extraordinary, isn't it?
07:46As someone who loves bird, as a birdwatcher, that you could be doing the worst things for
07:51the animals that you're admiring.
07:53Yeah, absolutely.
07:55And as a birdwatching community, we really can step up and help this bird that we all
07:59care about by leaving it in peace to breed.
08:03To help protect Capercaillie, conservationists are collaborating with local law enforcement.
08:09PC Dan Sutherland is a wildlife crime officer for the Highlands and Islands Division, who
08:15regularly patrols this area.
08:18When you're on patrol then, Dan, what sort of things are you looking for?
08:20Well, we're looking for people using the forest, five o'clock in the morning, six o'clock in
08:24the morning, the forests are generally quite quiet.
08:27If they're a birder, you can generally spot them.
08:29They've got all the kits, the cameramen that are set up at the side of the track to photograph
08:33birds.
08:34And when you engage with them, do they understand the sensitivities?
08:38Most do.
08:39I've even been told, oh, you're the Capercaillie police, so they're fully aware of what I'm
08:43doing.
08:44Yeah.
08:45They generally even know the rules, but unfortunately, you'll always have some that just want to
08:51step the mark, desperate to see a Capercaillie in lek, and that's what we're trying to stop
08:56and prevent.
08:57That's what's criminal.
08:58Sure.
08:59And you can get prosecuted then, if you get caught disturbing them?
09:02Yes, absolutely.
09:03So the Wildlife and Criticisde Act has some quite significant penalties, up to five years
09:08imprisonment and unlimited fines.
09:10Goodness me.
09:11Serious?
09:12Yeah.
09:13And some people might think it's a bit heavy handed, you know, using police time to protect
09:16a bird.
09:17Of course.
09:18Some people may have that opinion.
09:20I'm one officer dealing with wildlife crime in the Highlands and Islands.
09:23It's a bird that needs protecting.
09:24We are the reporting agency.
09:25We are the investigating authority.
09:28Given the critical status of Capercaillie, I think someone has to do that, and that's
09:32my job to do that.
09:33So you see value in your work?
09:34I see absolute value in the work we do, ultimately trying to protect the extinction of the native species.
09:42It's amazing to see the high level of protection needed for these rare animals.
09:47Later, I'll be learning about how conservationists find and protect Capercaillie breeding sites.
10:01For Capercaillie, the future may be uncertain.
10:06But there's one bird that's seen a radical change of fortunes in this landscape.
10:12When I was on the west coast of Scotland last winter, I got the chance to see my first ever
10:17white-tailed eagle.
10:21Wow.
10:22Six.
10:23There's six of them.
10:24Six of them.
10:25Whoa.
10:26Oh, look.
10:27I've never seen six in one go before.
10:29That's amazing.
10:30Yeah.
10:35After being absent from Scotland's skies for almost 60 years, white-tailed eagles, also
10:41known as sea eagles, were reintroduced in 1975.
10:46And since then, have made a remarkable comeback.
10:50But with a growing eagle population, some farmers are concerned about the impact that
10:55could have on them.
11:01Information on the sea eagle's diet is limited, but it was the focus of independent research
11:08conducted between 1998 and 2017.
11:13The study examined what was brought into eagle nests, and it found that, on average,
11:19about 6% of their diet was made up of lamb.
11:24Ten years ago, the Sea Eagle Management Scheme was established by NatureScot, extending support
11:30for farmers and crofters affected by sea eagle predation.
11:35Just last year, it provided financial support for 194 holdings across the country.
11:44The falconry at Rothymurchus Estate near Aviemore is an educational centre for the public to
11:51meet and learn about a variety of animals.
11:55Falconer Johnny Ames has an idea which could provide reassurance to sheep farmers at this
12:00time of year.
12:01But first, he wants to introduce me to Steora.
12:05Have you seen how big that eagle is?
12:07Morning.
12:08Good morning.
12:09How are you doing?
12:10I've just seen a massive great eagle.
12:12Yes, that is Steora.
12:14Steora?
12:15She is our white-tailed sea eagle.
12:17Right.
12:18Basically, for you to get a real idea of how big she is, we're going to give you this massive
12:22eagle glove.
12:23OK.
12:24And the best way is for you to fly her.
12:27Born in captivity, Steora was acquired in 2022 to raise awareness of these majestic
12:33birds.
12:34She's free to fly where she pleases, but is trained to always come back.
12:40So what we do is we've got some chicken for her this morning.
12:42OK.
12:43Breakfast?
12:44Yeah, breakfast.
12:45We like to use chicken as treats.
12:46And then we're going to try and bring her over and see if she'll come in to the glove.
12:50So you're going to hold our little bit of chicken like this.
12:53Yeah.
12:54Right?
12:55Yeah.
12:56Steora!
12:57Come on!
12:58Here she comes.
13:02And off she goes.
13:03Yeah, so she's thought twice about that, which I'm taking personally.
13:07You've just got to wait for her to build up her trust.
13:10She doesn't seem especially keen to meet me, choosing to fly off to her favourite perch,
13:15leaving us to follow.
13:17Me and you are going to go out a little bit further, probably go and stand by the perch.
13:21Now she's decided that you're a nice person.
13:24We'll go again.
13:25Squeeze that for me.
13:26Squeeze that.
13:27Yep.
13:28Now you can use that perch.
13:29Oh!
13:30She gobbled up the whole lot.
13:31Look at that.
13:32Now, they are a fish eagle, but they do like to scavenge as well.
13:37So like you saw, she just had a bit of chicken wing there, and that was gone within a second.
13:41Exactly.
13:42And she'll eat pretty much anything she can scavenge, would she?
13:44They're opportunists.
13:45Anything they can get that beak round, basically.
13:47So if she sees a dead animal...
13:50Or a man with chicken.
13:51Or a man with chicken, she will take any opportunity to get her dinner.
13:55So she may be adapted for fishing.
13:57You see her massive talons, they are like fishing hooks.
14:01But they will take other things.
14:04And of course the worry up here is that they're also taking things particularly like lambs.
14:09Well that is the worry.
14:10At the end of the day, she will scavenge.
14:12So if she sees a dead lamb, she would be quite happy to go and eat it.
14:18Sea eagles are known to have lamb in their diet, but harder to assess is how much of
14:23this is scavenged and how much is live prey.
14:27Some farmers in Scotland say sea eagle predation on lambs is having a significant financial
14:33impact on their bottom line.
14:37We have seen in other parts of the world that people use livestock guardian dogs to protect
14:42their livestock from predators.
14:44One of the main ones is in Europe, they breed dogs to protect against wolves.
14:51And then in Africa I've seen people using them to stop cheetahs and leopards coming
14:56in and killing people's livestock.
14:58And in those other parts of the world it stops people shooting these endangered animals.
15:03Anyway, to cut a long story short, when we moved up here we started working with some
15:08other people and they were working on eagle mitigation projects, which is basically trying
15:15to help farmers.
15:16And we said to them, have you ever tried livestock guardian dogs?
15:24And basically, from what we could find, we couldn't find anyone that was using dogs to
15:30protect their livestock in the UK as a general.
15:33So anyway, we incorporated a dog project into our falconry centre when we started.
15:38Go on, off you go.
15:40The thing is, I mean, would she mind?
15:42Look at her, she's a, she's fantastic, isn't she?
15:46She likes you now.
15:47Yeah, look, we're friends now.
15:48Oh, she's going to eat some feathers.
15:51Would she be put off by a dog?
15:53Yes.
15:54Really?
15:55If you think of this eagle in the wild, she cannot afford to get in a bit of a tangle
15:59with a wolf because if it bites her, it's game over for her.
16:03She's powerful, but she's not that powerful.
16:06So instinctively, they avoid big mammal predators.
16:09I don't even think that dogs have to do anything other than have their presence.
16:13And just be.
16:14And just be there.
16:15Right, are you ready?
16:16I'm ready as I'll ever be.
16:23Perfect.
16:24Hello.
16:25Oh, she's beautiful.
16:26Look at her.
16:27They're awesome, aren't they?
16:28Yeah, really awesome.
16:29Really awesome.
16:30At the end of the day, this is what our job is all about.
16:41It's trying to inspire people to fall in love with birds of prey like this.
16:47And yeah, I get that.
16:48That's why with our project, we're kind of in the middle.
16:50We love birds of prey.
16:51We understand people have to earn a living.
16:54And we just want to see both try and hopefully coexist.
17:02Although they all live at his falconry centre, Johnny keeps his birds and dogs separate so
17:08they don't get used to each other.
17:10Johnny's just getting the dogs that he's been talking about that act as guard dogs for sheep.
17:14And he's warned me that sort of against expectations, really, they're very, very friendly.
17:19So, bracing.
17:20Oh, my God, they're enormous.
17:26Using dogs to guard livestock isn't a new idea.
17:29Historical evidence suggests that guardian dogs were used alongside sheep and other livestock
17:34as early as 6,000 years ago.
17:36Hello.
17:37Hello.
17:38Oh, my goodness.
17:39It's like a small horse, just greeting the crew.
17:44As predators like wolves, bears, and lynx were wiped out, guardian dogs fell out of
17:49use and were almost forgotten.
17:51Oh, you're gorgeous.
17:53Yes, you are.
17:55But in one corner of Italy, the Maremma sheepdogs have remained in use and are now in demand
18:01across the world.
18:02So this is Puppy Hulk.
18:04He's a one-year-old.
18:05Well, basically, we bred him.
18:08The parents, they're imported from Italy because these are an Italian livestock guardian dog.
18:14So there aren't many of these in the UK.
18:16Here come the sheep.
18:17Come on.
18:18Okay, so we're going to bribe the sheep, are we?
18:21Yes, we'll take them over now, and we'll take them over to have their breakfast.
18:25Come on, sheep.
18:26Sheep.
18:27Come on.
18:28I mean, if they were out over vast mountain ranges in Italy, they might try and keep the
18:32sheep together in general, but you're not going to train them like a collie to go and,
18:37you know, round up your sheep and herd them into a pen.
18:40That's not going to happen.
18:41Their main role is just to guard your livestock, basically.
18:46Right, let's see if we can get them in.
18:48Come on, sheep.
18:49We'll see if we can...
18:50I'll tell you what.
18:51I'll bring up the rear.
18:52Kip, kip, kip.
18:53Adam Henson taught me that.
18:55Oh.
18:58You can see, you know, they all are used to each other.
19:01The main thing with these dogs, we've been told, is that if you get them from a puppy
19:06and raise them on your farm from a puppy, they bond with your particular livestock and
19:12in your area becomes their territory.
19:14Right.
19:15And then anything they don't recognise within their territory, they will try and just drive
19:19it away.
19:20They're not as aggressive as, like, a real guard dog that's going to run up and just
19:24attack something.
19:25They just try and drive the predator away, basically.
19:29So it's just trying to scare the eagle off, in this case, to go somewhere else.
19:33Not want to come down to the ground where there's a big predator roaming around, if
19:37that makes sense.
19:38Yeah.
19:39Have you had interest from farmers?
19:40At the moment, we did have a litter of puppies a year ago and they did go to, all go to work
19:48in farms, but mainly actually chicken farms for now.
19:53Free-range chicken farmer Matt Adley uses Maremma dogs with his birds and sent us this
19:59video.
20:00Hello, Matt here from Hill Farm Real Food in Cheshire.
20:03We keep these Maremma dogs, this is Mia over here and over here we have Isla.
20:09We have five in total.
20:11We keep them on the farm here because they live out with our free-ranging chickens and
20:15protect them from foxes.
20:17We keep the dogs with the chickens because it allows us to keep the chickens outside
20:21in the fields all year round and in the summer, the hens are free-ranging all the way through
20:25the fields.
20:27We use flexible electric netting, I don't know if you can see it there, that allows
20:31us to rotate the chickens around the field to fresh grass all the time.
20:35Unfortunately, that means they're a bit further away from the yard and they're more prone
20:38to fox attacks, but having the dogs with the chickens is what allows us to do it.
20:44Johnny's hoping that in time, these guardian dogs will be doing a similar job with livestock
20:49across the Cairngorms.
20:52But it will be a slow process, at the end of the day, we're not going to be breeding
20:57any more dogs any time soon.
20:59We are now at a stage where the dogs are here, we'll let people know the dogs are here and
21:04then if people want to get involved, we will only move the project forward if people want
21:09it basically.
21:10Meanwhile, Puppy Hulk has developed a taste for sheep food.
21:13He loves sheep nuts, that's one of his favourites.
21:17But like I say, he loves meeting people and they're very friendly and their job is just
21:21to be here, like I say, as ambassadors basically.
21:25Amazing.
21:36With its rich variety of habitats, early spring in the Cairngorms is the perfect time for
21:42spotting some of the UK's most precious wildlife.
21:46Rivers and streams criss-cross valleys.
21:49Fast flowing with stony bottoms, they provide the perfect habitat for dippers.
21:55The UK's only aquatic songbird, diving in to hunt invertebrate prey.
22:05Ancient Caledonian pine forest stretches to the mountains.
22:10Crested tits flit amongst granny pines.
22:15Northern Scotland the only place to spot these charismatic birds in the whole of the UK.
22:22Whilst on the forest floor, a pine marten forages.
22:27Females give birth at this time of year, as food becomes more plentiful.
22:33Lochs dot the landscape, breaking up the tree line.
22:38In early April, ospreys return from their winter in West Africa, swooping down to snatch
22:44fish from the water.
22:49Up in the mountains, ptarmigan can be heard.
22:52As the snow melts, their white winter camouflage gradually transforms to a mottled look in summer.
23:02From the valley floors to the mountain peaks, the Cairngorms are bursting with life.
23:15This year, I'm heading out across the UK to meet up with young people who are passionate
23:21about farming and the countryside, to find out how the next generation are adapting and
23:26navigating to the changes in agriculture.
23:29In Newbury, Berkshire, I met up with young arable farmer, Eleanor Gilbert.
23:36Eleanor was our Young Countryside Champion at the BBC Food and Farming Awards back in
23:402022, winning for her outstanding work on social media and in the press, to inform
23:47people about the world of farming.
23:50To win is beyond belief, really.
23:52We have amazing standards here in the UK, from meat to crops to everything, and knowing
23:58it's sourced locally is really important to me, and showing where it comes from.
24:06Eleanor is 23 and recently graduated from Harper Adams University with a degree in Agriculture
24:12and Crop Management.
24:13She now works full-time on her stepdad's farm.
24:16Hi, Eleanor.
24:17Hi, Adam.
24:18How are you?
24:19All right, good.
24:20You're still hard at it, then?
24:21Yeah.
24:22We're just hooking up the spire, ready to take it out to spray some micronutrients on
24:25the barley.
24:26Serious bit of kit, isn't it, this?
24:27Yeah, yeah.
24:28It's a monster, really.
24:29You're not from a farming background, are you?
24:32No.
24:33When I was 16, I sort of decided to get involved with farming, and my stepfather came onto
24:40the yard, and I said, how do I get more involved, and he said, all you have to do is just come
24:46onto the farm and see what we get up to, and I never looked back from there.
24:50Really?
24:51So can I jump in and join you?
24:52Yeah, let's go.
24:53OK.
24:54Nice one.
24:55Eleanor's stepdad, Dan Willis' family, has been farming in the area for six generations.
25:05It's hard to imagine what those earlier generations would think of the technology Eleanor is using
25:10today.
25:11I like it.
25:12It's a beast, isn't it?
25:13Look at that.
25:14Little steps come up, also.
25:15Yeah, they do.
25:16No one can get up.
25:17The farm itself spans 500 acres, but the family also owns or rents additional land
25:25in the area.
25:26Altogether, they manage around 3,000 acres, and with contracting work, too, there's plenty
25:31to do all year round.
25:32Ready to unfold?
25:33Yeah.
25:34So what's the width of the boom?
25:35So we've got a 30-metre boom here with the self-propelled sprayer.
25:45So all run on satellite guidance?
25:47All run on satellite.
25:48We've got our GPS up here, so once we've been round the headland, once we can turn
25:55on section control, and it will do it all for me.
25:57It will turn the sprayer on and off.
25:59I don't have to do anything.
26:00Incredible, isn't it?
26:01It's pretty amazing.
26:02Look at that.
26:03Incredible.
26:04And then we want to put our pump on, and then we can press this.
26:05There we go.
26:06We're spraying.
26:07Great.
26:08The fertiliser Eleanor is spraying on this barley crop is a liquid blend, containing
26:22elements such as magnesium and manganese, which enhance metabolism and boost root development.
26:29Just watch the telegraph poles.
26:31Yes, great big telegraph pole coming up.
26:33I do not want to hit that one.
26:36And you studied what?
26:37Crop science?
26:38Crop management.
26:39So I studied agriculture and crop management.
26:42Talking to Dan about those sorts of things, is he receptive to your new ideas?
26:45Yeah.
26:46So I've done a few of my own trials, and also started up my own business venture, which
26:51is Pickering Pumpkins and Maize Maize.
26:53Well done.
26:54Crikey.
26:55And you excited about the future of farming?
26:56Do you know what?
26:58Even though times are quite uncertain at the minute, I think it is exciting.
27:02I feel like we're in an agricultural revolution in terms of technology.
27:08Technology is playing a big part.
27:09We've got autonomous tractors, drones.
27:12Five years ago, that was, you know, wow, a drone is going to do something, you know,
27:18in agriculture.
27:19I can't imagine it.
27:20I remember saying, I just can't imagine it.
27:22But now, five years on, we have drones on our farm that we can spread crops and fertilize
27:28and spray.
27:29So it is coming, and I find that really exciting.
27:32Yes, and it can improve efficiencies all the time, don't it?
27:35Now if you're a techno wizard, actually farming's quite a good position to be in.
27:39I mean, this is all computer run, isn't it?
27:41Satellite guidance.
27:42Great.
27:43That's it, isn't it?
27:44Yep.
27:45All finished.
27:46So.
27:47We will turn off our pump, turn off our section control, and then we can fold up.
28:03OK.
28:06Perfect.
28:11I'm not sure I'd be confident enough to drive this great big beast.
28:14I'm sure you would.
28:16With this year's crop taken care of for now,
28:19Helena's next job is to inspect the last of the harvested grain before it gets picked
28:23up tomorrow.
28:24What sort of capacity can you get in here?
28:26So, about 950 tonnes, either side, so this side and that side.
28:30Sure.
28:31To store the grain long term, 15 is the magic number.
28:35You want to keep it below 15 degrees Celsius in temperature,
28:38and 15 in moisture percentage.
28:41To preserve it in pristine condition for sale,
28:43Helena's checking it with a handy probe that tests for both.
28:4814.9.
28:49Perfect.
28:50Because we don't want it above 15.
28:52Temperature's 14.
28:53So, it's good to go, ready for tomorrow.
28:55So, you graduated last year.
28:57What have you been doing since?
28:58So, graduated, went straight into a full-time harvest,
29:01then went on to my pumpkin patch straight away,
29:04and then I've been doing a bit of farming.
29:07Then went on to my pumpkin patch straight away,
29:10and then actually I went to Austria to milk sheep
29:13and learn how to make cheese,
29:15something a little bit different to an arable farm,
29:17but I really enjoyed that.
29:19And then, fingers crossed, well, I'm hopefully off to the USA soon
29:22to complete the 2,000-mile harvest.
29:24Wow. Tell me about that. What does that involve?
29:26I think it's going to be the biggest challenge of my life.
29:29So, we start right at Texas and work all the way up to Canada
29:32for eight, nine months combining different crops,
29:37wheat, ore seed, rape, corn, sunflowers, linseed,
29:40to feed the world, really.
29:42Wow. And serious bits of kit?
29:44Oh, yeah, serious kits.
29:46Dual wheels, 45-, 50-foot headers,
29:49lorries with 18-shift gear changes,
29:52and, yeah, it's going to be an experience,
29:55and we live on the road as well,
29:56so I think that will also be a challenge.
29:58Like a big team of you?
29:59Yes.
30:00And do many young women do that?
30:02Well, the crew I'm going on,
30:03it's actually I'll be the third girl to ever go out there from the UK,
30:06so it's not a popular thing.
30:08I am very nervous,
30:09but I think it will be a good experience for myself.
30:14After her harvest in the US,
30:16Eleanor will be back on the farm full-time.
30:19Along with her social media,
30:21she's also looking for new ways to connect the public with farming,
30:25and she's already started laying the groundwork.
30:29Here we are, Adam.
30:30We've had pumpkins here,
30:32had a maize maze all the way round it,
30:35and then we had this plot with all the beautiful sunflowers,
30:38and the birds have really enjoyed it since we let it stand.
30:42So the sunflowers have gone over now,
30:44but it was absolutely beautiful.
30:45It's a huge site, much bigger than I was imagining.
30:48Yeah, yeah, it's a few acres, but make the most of it.
30:52And is this sort of part of your mantra
30:54to want to communicate with the public,
30:56like you do with your social media?
30:57Yeah, like with my social media,
30:59I want to bring them along the journey with me,
31:01and what better way to actually bring them onto the farm,
31:04and talk to them about farming,
31:06and just let everyone enjoy the fresh air,
31:08the freedom, and the mud.
31:11And where do you see the future for you,
31:13and farming in general?
31:15Well, farming, of course, is really uncertain at the moment.
31:19For me personally, I mean,
31:21I've just studied at university for four years,
31:24so I'm in a lot of debt now,
31:26and farming was hard to get into before,
31:29and now it's even harder for me as a young person.
31:33So it is uncertain and scary times.
31:36We have that to think about,
31:38but I think if you love farming,
31:40there definitely is a future,
31:41and hopefully we can overcome those problems.
31:43Farmers are known to be resilient and determined,
31:46so I think that's what keeps us going.
31:48We love it, and we have a passion for it,
31:50and it's not like work when you enjoy it.
31:52Yeah, well, well done.
31:53It's great to see you being so positive.
31:55Let's get you on that tractor,
31:56and leave you to your flailing.
31:57OK, let's go.
32:02BIRDS CHIRP
32:22We're in the Cairngorms National Park,
32:25home to some of the country's rarest and most endangered species.
32:30And it's not just the big beasts.
32:32The eagles, capercaillies, beavers and wildcats
32:36that need a helping hand.
32:40There are teams of people across Scotland
32:42working to help our smaller,
32:44sometimes overlooked, but nonetheless important species.
32:53A sunlit Scottish windowsill may not seem like the front line
32:57in an effort to save one of the UK's endangered species.
33:01Cairngorms resident and TV presenter Nick Baker
33:04is an entomologist,
33:06determined to breed one of the UK's rarest ants
33:09to boost the existing fragmented population
33:12here in the National Park.
33:15If the work that goes on in this room is a success,
33:18it could be a step towards halting the decline
33:21of these rare creatures.
33:23And Nick has just had an exciting breakthrough.
33:26He's got a green screen and has started laying eggs.
33:29What I've got here doesn't look particularly glamorous or special,
33:33but we've got two colonies of narrow-headed ants,
33:37which are a particularly rare and significant species in the UK.
33:41There's a small population in Devon.
33:43There's those here in the Cairngorms,
33:45which is the stronghold for this species.
33:48So they're in big trouble.
33:50And what we've got here is two trial nests.
33:52No-one's actually done it with this species before,
33:55and this is this colony, which is doing quite well.
33:58And for the first time, we've got probably over...
34:00Well, nearly 200 eggs, I reckon, in these nests now,
34:02so that's a first.
34:04I'm hoping to bring these on and have several generations
34:07to make this nest big and strong before we put it back in the wild.
34:12Hayley Wiswell, from the Cairngorms National Park Authority,
34:16is part of a wider team
34:18trying to bring these ants back from the brink.
34:22Today, she's come to check on the health of the colony.
34:26But here they are.
34:28They really like the sun and they're doing quite well.
34:31Hi, ladies. How are you doing?
34:33It's good to see you.
34:35Now, I'm looking through there.
34:37I think there might be a cluster there. I can see eggs there.
34:40Gosh, they're really active, aren't they?
34:42Have a look at that.
34:44Wow, there's quite a few batches of eggs, isn't there?
34:46There's a couple of hundred in there.
34:48Really?
34:50Oh, hi, Queenie!
34:52Oh, fab!
34:54This is a really big step for us, isn't it? Definitely.
34:57I'm pretty confident we can scale this up now.
35:00I mean, I was surprised how well they've done.
35:04Well done!
35:06They did all the work.
35:08Getting to this stage has not been easy.
35:11Before attempting to breed these ants,
35:14the project has tried numerous other ways
35:16to increase the narrow-headed ant population,
35:19including releasing mated queens
35:21and even translocating whole nests.
35:24With little success, the project is now trying a lower-risk method,
35:28creating a recipe for establishing starter colonies.
35:33It's just great. It's really exciting.
35:36This could be really groundbreaking.
35:38If we get this recipe right,
35:41this could be a big game-changer
35:43for the conservation of this species,
35:45not just in the Cairngorms National Park,
35:48but nationally at the UK level.
35:54Breeding new narrow-headed ant colonies is still in its early days,
35:59so being able to find healthy wild ant nests
36:02is still the backbone of the project.
36:05If these nests were to disappear,
36:07it would mean losing a vital part of the species range.
36:13It's a beautiful habitat.
36:15Ooh!
36:16You got one?
36:17Maybe.
36:18Ooh.
36:19I was thinking, they won't be this close to the slope.
36:21They just won't get any sun.
36:22It looks like it, doesn't it?
36:24Yeah.
36:25This nest is an open clearing in the forest,
36:29and that's just what these ants really love.
36:32So these ants need to have sunshine all the time
36:36to be productive,
36:38and if you don't have your eye in,
36:41it's quite easy just to walk past them
36:43because they're very camouflaged.
36:45So they've woven grasses into the nest,
36:48a lot of moths,
36:49there's some cowberry leaves.
36:51So what it does, it forms a dome,
36:53which means there'll always be a sunny side,
36:55so that side will catch the sun,
36:57and the other side will be cooler.
36:59So when it gets really hot,
37:00there's a gradient of temperature from one side to the other,
37:03from the top to the bottom,
37:04and they can move their brood around
37:06to the bit that's optimal for their developments.
37:09I think if we head up that way into the sun...
37:12I'm just going to follow you from now on.
37:14OK.
37:15Once you've found one, you kind of get a bug.
37:18You've got your eye in, haven't you?
37:20Let's find more.
37:21Oh, there's something here.
37:23Oh, yes, look at that.
37:24Oh, got another one.
37:25This one's in the sun.
37:26Oh, that's more like it, isn't it?
37:28Oh, there's activity on this one, look.
37:30This one's proper catching all the sun.
37:33What a difference the sun makes.
37:35This is one of the few pockets in the Cairngorms
37:38that represents the National Strongholds,
37:40and this is where our project comes in.
37:42We want this.
37:43We want the situation like this
37:44where you can trip over these nests on a regular basis.
37:46It spreads the load a bit as well,
37:48because all you need is one.
37:49I mean, look at it.
37:50It's beautiful, but it's one wildfire through here,
37:53and you've wiped out half the population.
37:56But, yeah, really cool to see.
37:58You can feel the warmth on it, can't you?
38:00It's really...
38:01What temperature it is.
38:02It's obviously...
38:03Oh, I can tell you.
38:06Just to see what it's like on the surface.
38:08This is something I introduced last year.
38:10So, surface temperature.
38:12There's infrared.
38:13It's only 22 degrees, 26 degrees down there, 25, 26.
38:19But considerably more than the ambient temperature.
38:21Yeah, so if you do it on some moss, 6 degrees.
38:24Wow.
38:25This demonstrates really nicely
38:27that thermal effect of the mound and how important it is.
38:32And this is an adaptation to living in these cooler boreal forests, isn't it?
38:36Yeah, yeah, I guess.
38:37This allows them to exist in these cooler climates.
38:41We know that they are interacting
38:43on all levels of the food chain in the food web.
38:47They're predating on small invertebrates.
38:49They're affecting the soil.
38:51They distribute seeds.
38:53Capa caeli will eat them as well.
38:55And the nest itself is like an ecosystem in its own right.
39:01So, within this beautiful structure,
39:04there are very specialist invertebrate species that live here and nowhere else.
39:10So, there's not many other species
39:13that can interact with the environment in this way.
39:16So, you know if you've got a healthy population of ants like this,
39:21then you know you've got a lot of other stuff going on in this habitat.
39:25That it's a complex, it's a healthy habitat.
39:28And that's why we get so excited about seeing them and seeing them do well.
39:33They're such an important part of the ecosystem.
39:36I like to think of it like a Swiss watch mechanism.
39:40You remove one tiny little cog,
39:43one tiny little thing that's spinning around,
39:45and everything else grinds to haunt around it.
39:49So, yeah, these are vital.
39:58We've been so lucky because the weather up here in the Cairngorms
40:01has been absolutely glorious.
40:03But I wonder what it's going to do for the week ahead.
40:05Here's the Countryfile five-day forecast.
40:13Thank you, Adam. Good evening.
40:15Well, it's been a glorious week of weather.
40:17It's been a fantastic week.
40:19It's been a fantastic week.
40:21It's been a fantastic week.
40:23It's been a fantastic week.
40:25Good evening. Well, it's been a glorious week of weather.
40:27It's been warm, dry, lots of blue sky and sunshine.
40:30And as we ended the month earlier on this week,
40:33then the March statistics have now been released by the Met Office.
40:36It won't surprise you to find out it was dry and it was sunny for the UK as a whole.
40:41Here's the rainfall anomaly chart.
40:43So particularly dry across England where you see those dark brown colours here.
40:47In fact, it was only Scotland that saw more than 50% of its average March rainfall.
40:52A very sunny March too.
40:54Particularly where we see these darker amber colours across parts of East Anglia.
40:58It was England's sunniest March on record since 1910.
41:02Of course, that's when records date back to.
41:04And for the UK, the third sunniest March too on record as a whole.
41:08Of course, all of the dry, sunny, windy weather through this week has helped the spread of wildfires.
41:13The better news is that into next week, then the winds are going to ease down a touch.
41:18But here's a little summary for the week ahead.
41:20High pressure remains very much in charge, keeping us dry and settled.
41:24Lots of sunshine by day, still some very chilly nights.
41:27And then by the time we get to next weekend, there could be some rainfall.
41:30And I'll show you why here.
41:32So high pressure centred across the UK.
41:34It's slowly going to slip its way further southwards as we head through the week.
41:38Bit more cloud for eastern areas through the middle of the week.
41:40The wind turns more westerly for the northern half of the UK as we head into next weekend.
41:44That could allow for some weather systems to approach from the Atlantic.
41:48So turning wetter by the time we get to next weekend.
41:51But until then, it is looking dry.
41:54And it's dry too overnight tonight. We're back to the beginning now.
41:57So clear skies, lighter winds, and there'll be a patchy frost into tomorrow morning as well.
42:02Bit more moisture towards the north, so perhaps a bit of mist and some fog.
42:05Some low cloud perhaps forming here towards northern areas.
42:08But that will lift and clear fairly readily through the morning.
42:11It's a cold start to the new working week.
42:13A lot more sunshine around.
42:15And the winds are a little lighter again tomorrow.
42:17So it will feel a bit warmer, I think, towards some of these eastern coastal areas
42:20where it's been cool with that cold North Sea and the wind coming in from the east.
42:24But the highest temperatures tomorrow could be across central areas of Scotland.
42:27Here we could get to 20 degrees Celsius perhaps.
42:30And of course, don't forget that where we've got the best of the sunshine,
42:33the tree pollen levels will be high or very high.
42:36And that's true for much of the week too.
42:39Into Tuesday we've got a bit more moisture around.
42:41So it's quite likely that there will be some more low cloud perhaps.
42:44Some more cloud floating around throughout the day.
42:46So perhaps not water or sunshine.
42:48Again, the highest temperatures for Northern Ireland and perhaps for western Scotland.
42:51It will be a little cooler further south and east.
42:54But look at what happens on Wednesday.
42:56Now, a good few of the weather models are suggesting there will be more cloud
42:59towards eastern areas of the UK as we head through Wednesday,
43:02particularly across parts of East Anglia, down through southeast England,
43:05perhaps northeast England again.
43:07So where we've got the cloud, it's always going to be feeling cooler.
43:10Best of the sunshine will be further west.
43:12Again, we could see the high teens even at 20 or 21 degrees Celsius.
43:17And it's just the same again on Thursday.
43:19The high is gradually slipping its way further south and west.
43:22As you can see, more cloud out towards eastern areas.
43:25It's really towards the north again where we'll see those temperatures
43:28in the high teens, perhaps even in the low 20s.
43:31But it stays dry through the working week.
43:33And then things start to change because the wind turns more westerly
43:36towards the north, introducing weather systems.
43:39Some of these showers out in Biscay could affect the far south
43:42as we head into Sunday as well.
43:44Here's the outlook for our capital cities.
43:46You can keep an eye on the forecast for your local area, of course,
43:49on the BBC Weather app. Bye for now.
44:02We're in the Cairngorms National Park,
44:04where communities are working hard to protect species on the brink.
44:10It's not just the animals of the highlands that need support.
44:17There are an estimated 11 million mature ash trees in Scotland
44:21and they're under attack by the fungal disease ash dieback.
44:25To call attention to the issue, a group of crafters, designers
44:29and artists, including furniture maker Angus Ross,
44:32have collaborated on a project called Ash Rise.
44:39So what's Ash Rise all about?
44:41Ash Rise is really all about celebrating the ash tree.
44:44Ash is really suffering from ash dieback,
44:46which is a disease that's come in over the last 15, 20 years, really.
44:50With this disease, it could actually devastate up to 80% of the trees.
44:54So it's, as much as anything, it's making people aware of that
44:57and also really to say that, you know, although it has been
45:00a sort of slightly neglected and underused wood,
45:02it is actually very beautiful.
45:04Angus gets much of the wood for his furniture
45:07from this 50-acre woodland south of the Cairngorms in Aberfeldy,
45:11which he co-owns with a small syndicate,
45:14including forester Richard Worrell.
45:20Ash dieback is a fungus which really belongs in Asia.
45:24It's not native to Europe or North America at all.
45:27In mature trees, you've just got small dead branches
45:30that come to an abrupt end.
45:32That's the clearest sign in winter.
45:34In summer, you'd see lots of dead leaves as well.
45:38We had our first case in 2012, and that was one single sapling.
45:43The next year, in this railway cutting, there were 28.
45:47The following year, there were 356.
45:50The year after that, there were 650 out of a total of 700 saplings.
45:56So after four years, we'd lost over 90% of the small saplings.
46:00So all these little saplings behind me here, are those all affected?
46:05There are about 12 that I marked a few years ago
46:08showing no symptoms at all, and we're keeping an eye on those
46:11in case any of those appear to be resistant.
46:13Because that's the hope, isn't it,
46:15that we can actually find the resistant trees
46:17and then use them to repopulate?
46:19That's exactly right.
46:20But of those I've marked, last summer I did lose three or four of those,
46:24and so I'm not full of hope, but we keep our fingers crossed.
46:28Fortunately, if the tree is felled in time, Angus can still use the wood.
46:35But for the tree to come down, I need to get well out of the way.
46:40HE DRILLS
46:54Once the tree's down, Angus checks it
46:57and decides where the trunk's to be cut.
47:00So that will give us probably about...
47:03So I would say around about this sort of...
47:06It's got a bend on it, but not too bad, isn't it?
47:09Yeah, it's not too bad, that one.
47:11A lot of the thing with Scottish timber is they tend to be
47:14a lot more knotty and pippy and gnarly.
47:16People quite often think of those as flaws,
47:18but to me it's part of the beauty of it, really.
47:20So, you know, we've been trying to, over the years,
47:22we've been working with the native hardwoods
47:24to get people to really see the beauty of the wood
47:26and see all those flaws and perhaps its character
47:28in part of the actual design.
47:32HE DRILLS
47:40The quality of the wood is only truly revealed
47:43once it's been planked.
47:50So this, Charlotte, is really the most exciting bit there is, really,
47:53because as soon as you take that first cut off the log,
47:55you can see there's some quite interesting green here.
47:57You've got a little knot there. Yeah, there.
47:59And then it sort of flares out.
48:01You've got straight green here.
48:03So when we're looking at timber like this,
48:05because we do a lot of steam bending,
48:07we're looking for nice straight green we can use for that.
48:09And if we can use it for that, we'll cut into thin planks,
48:11and if we can't, we'll use slightly thicker planks.
48:13Oh. So we can now, at this stage,
48:15decide what it's going to be used for in the workshop.
48:19Time to cut some planks myself.
48:22OK. You ready?
48:24Yep. Very gently.
48:26Oh, wow! OK.
48:32So I guess the proof of this is going to be when you lift that up...
48:35It is. ..to see what it looks like. Go on, then.
48:38Hey, that doesn't look too juddery.
48:40No, no, it's not. It's not too juddery at all.
48:42Nice clean plank, actually. Very, very usable for us, really.
48:45Yeah. What happens to this now?
48:47Well, when we've got these planks here now,
48:49we'll then take these over to our yard near the workshop,
48:51where we'll dry them.
48:53So we'll layer them up with sticks in between them
48:55so you get a lot of air through it. How long for?
48:57Well, it generally takes about a year per inch of thickness.
49:00So we tend to think it takes about three years, really,
49:03from when we're sort of cutting stuff up
49:05before it actually comes into the workshop to be used for us.
49:07This is definitely a job for the patient, isn't it?
49:12Angus's co-owned woodland is just a few miles downstream
49:16from his workshop,
49:18where the diseased wood begins a new chapter.
49:24Wow. So what on earth is that?
49:27That's a steam box.
49:29So that is filled with steam at 100 degrees centigrade,
49:31and the wood that we're going to bend is in that,
49:33you know, sections like this.
49:35I mean, the obvious thing about wood is that it doesn't bend
49:37and it's very strong, so why do you want to bend it?
49:40Trees doesn't go in straight lines, does it?
49:42So you don't... You see a tree like that, really.
49:44So in some ways, it takes it almost back to the more natural form
49:47we're having, the sort of flowing bends, really.
49:49I mean, presumably, it's going to be very hot, though,
49:51when it comes out of there, and then what are you going to do with it?
49:53We're going to put it into this jig,
49:55and you are going to wind the jig and bend it forward.
49:58Gently? Yes, a nice steady piece, really.
50:00OK. Right.
50:02What could possibly go wrong?
50:07So how long will it have been steaming, then?
50:09This has been steaming for a couple of hours, really.
50:12And how long have you got to bend it?
50:14About a minute and a half. Oh, my goodness.
50:16You didn't tell me that bit.
50:19OK, Charlotte, please wind.
50:21This feels... Oh, my goodness.
50:24Oh, it's really... Look at it, it's very firm.
50:27That's a good steady piece.
50:31And we'll just lock it in place just now with this clamp,
50:33and that'll sort of keep it in that position until it's really dry.
50:38Tight enough? Yep, lovely.
50:40Whoa.
50:47Next one, you're going to try it all yourself.
50:49Oh, right.
50:53Right, what's the aim here?
50:55The aim is to take one of these components,
50:58which you can see we've actually machined and then split down there,
51:01and to bend the split half out to create this,
51:05and that will become the leg for a chair.
51:08See, when I first looked at that,
51:10I assumed that these were two separate pieces of wood
51:13and you'd actually stuck this bit on.
51:15No, it's all the one piece that we're using.
51:17And we try and do that for quite a few reasons.
51:19A, it keeps the strength together, and B, it's a challenge.
51:23I thought you were going to say,
51:25and it's beautiful, which it undoubtedly is.
51:27But no, you just like making your life difficult.
51:29That's right.
51:31This, again, is a hot piece of wood.
51:33Hot piece of wood, yeah, yeah.
51:35So we've got a minute and a half.
51:37I'll just get this clamped onto there.
51:39And then what we tend to do is we put this little wedge down here
51:41to start it off.
51:43OK, yeah, and now you bend that down.
51:45I'll just ease it in. That's it, that's it. Keep going.
51:47I'm trying to be gentle.
51:49That's it. No, no, perfect, perfect.
51:51Put that on there, and there we are.
51:53Wow.
51:55That's the bent leg for you, isn't it, really?
51:57That's amazing, isn't it?
51:59Is it particularly satisfying for you?
52:01Because this is ash that actually had to get cut down anyway.
52:05Yes, it is, and I think that is really important, I think.
52:08But it gives value to the wood, really,
52:10when we do things like this with it.
52:12So we're creating pieces of furniture out of the wood,
52:14and it would be such a shame if everything went to fire
52:16where they were just cutting it down and firewooding it.
52:18So part of the Ash Rise,
52:20with that project, is to see, you know,
52:22we can do things with this ash.
52:24Don't just cut it down, you know, if you've got lots of...
52:26Don't just cut it down and firewood it,
52:28because this ash can be used for much better things than that, really.
52:43Hidden amongst the forests of the stunning Cairngorms National Park
52:47is one of the UK's most reclusive birds,
52:51the capercaillie.
52:53With only a little over 500 left,
52:56the capercaillie is on the UK red list for birds of conservation concern.
53:02But to know how to protect this iconic species,
53:05first you need to know where they are.
53:09Dr Jack Bamber is a researcher from the University of Aberdeen
53:13who studies capercaillie breeding productivity.
53:16How do you know how to find the breeding sites?
53:18We have historical areas where we know that birds used to be present
53:21and we come in and we search for droppings and feathers
53:24and signs of dust bathing,
53:26and then from that we get an idea that the birds are using those areas.
53:29When we come and do it, we come in in the middle of the day,
53:32outside of lekking season, to avoid potentially disturbing the birds.
53:36And once you've found the site, then what do you do?
53:38So we put camera traps on them.
53:40So by deploying the camera traps,
53:42it allows us to see when hens are coming with their young
53:45and we can then count how many chicks a hen has
53:47without us needing to invasively monitor the chicks.
53:50One of the things that I've been doing as part of my study
53:53is something called diversionary feeding.
53:55So what we do is we give them alternative food.
53:58So we put deer carcasses out during the breeding season,
54:01which means that predators go and forage there
54:03as opposed to foraging for nests and chicks in the same area.
54:06Successful?
54:07Yeah, it's been very successful.
54:09So when we deploy the diversionary feeding,
54:11we almost double the number of nests that are surviving
54:14and half the productivity.
54:16It's critical not to disturb the capercaillie at this time of year,
54:20so Jack's on his own from here on as he heads off on his search.
54:25This is one of the dust baths that we've deployed one of our cameras on.
54:29Traditionally, it consists of this sort of sandy substrate
54:32where the birds can come in and really nestle themselves down.
54:35What you can kind of make out here is these sort of bowl-type shapes,
54:38which is where the birds normally sit down and nestle themselves in.
54:41We look for drop-ins.
54:43So this is quite a clear example of a capercaillie drop-in.
54:46It's a slightly older one because it's mostly dried out.
54:49This is a really clear sign that this is being used by a capercaillie.
54:53What we also try and look for is if there's any feathers
54:56because that allows us to identify if it's male or female birds.
55:00So this is a really clear example of a capercaillie hen feather.
55:03The cock birds are black and green in colouration,
55:07whereas the females are sort of a rusty orange colour.
55:10So this is a really good sign that we've got a hen capercaillie
55:13using this dust bath site.
55:16We'll go and check our camera trap
55:18and see if we've got any detections of capercaillie.
55:22So we can see from this image that we've got quite a mature
55:25capercaillie brood detected at this site.
55:27One, two, three, four, five, six quite mature capercaillie poults.
55:32What looks to be the mother in the background there.
55:35When they get to this age, you can start making out
55:37whether they're male or female because the colour of their feathers comes in.
55:41So the males become really obviously black with the red wattle around their eyes
55:45and the females get that really nice rusty colour to them.
55:56So this is the kind of habitat that capercaillie are after.
56:00We can see we've got more mature pine trees with a little mixture.
56:04But what they're really interested in is this plant vaccinium
56:07or blaeberry or bilberry.
56:09It seems to be particularly beneficial for young broods
56:13because the caterpillars that live on it are what they eat
56:15during the first few weeks of life.
56:17So this is good kappa habitat.
56:27When we've located signs in the local area,
56:29we start to search and check areas that would be suitable for dust baths.
56:34So we can see root plates are probably the most common area that we find dust baths in.
56:39And we can see here that we've got a really clear dust bath bowl
56:43that has been used relatively recently looking at it.
56:47And what we can see is probably compared to the last one where we found a hen feather,
56:51this dust bath appears to have been recently used by a cock bird.
56:54And we can see lots and lots of droppings here right in the middle of this bowl.
56:58These ones are a lot fresher, they're a lot softer and a lot greener.
57:01So that's very, very recent use.
57:04So this is a really, really good dust bath.
57:06And this would trigger us to deploy a camera trap.
57:10Clearly we've found lots of really good signs of kappakali in this area.
57:13So hopefully with the deployment of these cameras,
57:15we'll start seeing if they are breeding in this site again this year.
57:19With the diversionary feeding, with limiting disturbance,
57:21being careful to not disturb them during the lekking season,
57:24there is some hope for kappakali in future
57:26and their populations can start to grow.
57:28And we continue to see increases in their productivity.
57:45Hey, any luck with the kappakalis?
57:47Well, lots of positive signs and they have got an army of people watching their backs.
57:51So fingers crossed for a successful lekking season.
57:54Fingers suitably crossed. That's it from us here.
57:58Next week, John and I will be on the Stroudwater Canal in Gloucestershire.
58:04If I press here...
58:06Oh, here it comes! Yes!
58:08Hey, hey, look at that!
58:10One wetland in progress.
58:15Do you really look forward to these trips on the canal?
58:18There is nothing better than being on the water
58:21as I find it very relaxing.
58:25Oh, yes.
58:26Spin it all the way round.
58:27Oh, you have to hold it, right.
58:30That's next week at 5.15.
58:32Hope you can join us then. Bye-bye.
58:34Bye-bye.
58:42Could a storm put the stops on the Imre family's gourmet dining event?
58:46New This Farming Life starting now on BBC Two.
58:48And you might find this useful.
58:50It's exam season and BBC Bitesize is here to support revision.
58:53Discover how by going online.
58:55Next tonight, we're continuing our voyage across the Americas.